1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969,
1970
HIGHLIGHTS OF IBM HISTORY
IN THE EARLY YEARS of its corporate life, starting in 1911,
IBM was known as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording
Company. To understand IBM's development, it is nec
essary to trace the events leading to C-T- R's formation...
The value of tabulating machines was established in the
late 19th Century. With the available methods of compiling
statistics about the expanding population, the United States
census of 1880 took seven years to complete. Meanwhile,
Dr. Herman Hollerith, statistician, was devising a series
of electrical machines that performed adding and counting
operations on data fed into them in the form of punched
cards. Hollerith's machines were able to complete the
1890 census in less than three years. . . In 1896, Hollerith
formed the Tabulating Machine Co. , with a plant in
Washington, D. C. . . . The first computing scale was
patented in 1885 by Julius E. Pitrat of Gallipolis, Ohio.
His patents were bought by Edward Canby and Orange O.
Ozias, businessmen in Dayton, Ohio, who incorporated
the Computing Scale Co. in 1891... A mechanical time
recorder was devised in 1888 by Willard Bundy, jeweler, of
Auburn, N. Y. . . . The next year, his brother, Harlow,
organized the Bundy Manufacturing Company to produce
time recorders. The company later relocated in Endicott,
N. Y. ; as the International Time Recording Co.... In 1911, at
the suggestion of merchant-banker Charles R. Flint, the
International Time Recording Co. , the Computing Scale
Company and the Tabulating Co. merged and incorporated in
New York State as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording
Company... It manufactured commercial scales, tabulating
and time-recording equipment.
1914: Thomas J. Watson, 40, becomes C-T-R's president.
(He had formerly worked for National Cash Register, where
he was a branch manager at 24 and, later, general sales
manager. One of his many innovations was the "Think" concept
which he introduced at a Dayton, Ohio sales meeting.
In 1913, he left NCR) . . . He codifies three basic policies:
profit for customers, profit for employees, profit for stockholders. . .
A hundred shares of C -T -R stock are worth
less than $3, 000. The company has 770 stockholders. . .
Endicott plant devoted primarily to producing time-recording
equipment. . . Dayton plant makes scales. . . Washington
produces cards. . . Use of accounting machines begins to
spread. The accounting product line includes mechanical key
punch, hand-operated gang punch, vertical sorter and non-
printing tabulator. . . Customers include railroads, chemicals,
utilities and life insurance companies. . . By end of the year,
company personnel grows to 1, 346, and gross income from
sales, service and rentals in U. S. is four million dollars.
1915: First convention is held, forerunner of Hundred Percent
Club Conventions. . . Sales force is reorganized and strengthened.
1916: First steps taken in setting up educational program: an education
department is established with its own manager, and a
study session for employees is held in New York. The program
is later to expand to include sales, customer engineering, manufacturing,
customer and general education courses.
1917: C-T-R enters Canadian market under name of International
Business Machines Co. , Ltd. . . . Brazil office opens.
1919: IBM is introduced in Europe. . . Electric synchronized
time clock system is introduced.
1920: Printing tabulator is introduced. At start of year, company
has over 3, 000 employees.. . Gross income triples
since 1914.
1923: Sales posts open in Latin America and Far East . . .
Electric key punch is introduced.
1924: C-T-R adopts name of International Business Machines
. . . Quarter Century Club organized . . . Rotary Card Press
developed to produce cards at high speed . . . IBM introduces
self-regulating time system . . . First issue of "Business
Machines" appears . . . Plant locations now include Endicott;
Washington, D. C. ; Dayton, Ohio; Canada; France; Germany.
1925: IBM enters Philippine market . . . Horizontal sorting
machine introduced . . . First stock dividends paid, at rate
of 20%.
1926: IBM stock splits three for one . . . All three company
divisions win grand prizes for products at Sesquicentennial
Exposition in Philadelphia . . . Company has 3, 953 employees.
1928: Punched card made to hold 80 columns, almost double its
previous capacity . . . Subtracting-accounting machine introduced . . .
Customer Engineering training course is organized
. . . IBM establishes Suggestion Program for employees.
1929: Stock market crashes, but IBM declares 5% stock dividend
. . . Gross income passes the 18 million mark.
1930: Despite depression, IBM increases its employment, trains
more salesmen and increases engineering efforts. (This pays
off when, six years later, the company is able to provide
machines and services for a record-breaking order for the
Government's new Social Security program. )
1931: Accounting machines are introduced in Japan . . . New
products: the 400 alphabetic accounting and the first of the
600 series of computers, which handles multiplication and
division . . . First permanent installation of the Filene-Finlay
Translator is set up at League of Nations in Geneva.
1933: New education building and engineering laboratory built at
Endicott . . . Development of Carroll Carriage improves
alphabetical accounting machines by automatic handling of
special forms and variable line spacing.
1934: Company sells Dayton Scale Division to Hobart Manufacturing Co. . . .
The 405 alphabetical accounting machine is
introduced . . . Group life insurance plan is initiated for
employees . . . IBM drops piecework.
1935: First commercially successful electric typewriter is
placed on market by IBM Electric Typewriter Division
(acquired from Electromatic Typewriter, Inc. of Rochester,
N. Y. two years earlier) . . . First issue of THINK appears
. . . International proof machine, to clear bank checks, is
introduced.
1937: Although paid holidays are fairly unknown in major industries,
IBM announces policy of paying employees for six
holidays . . . A paid vacation plan is also introduced . . .
Gross income passes $30 million . . . There are over 10, 000
employees . . . The 77 collator appears and test-scoring
machine is introduced.
1940: IBM has 12, 656 employees . . . IBM announces military
service benefits plan for employees entering armed forces.
1941 - 1945: World War II: IBM offers entire facilities to
government for war effort. Company accepts only nominal one
percent profit on war materials . . . Among war-time products are:
naval and aircraft fire control instruments;
Browning automatic rifles; .30 calibre carbines; director
and prediction units for 90 mm anti-aircraft guns; bomb
sights and aircraft super-charger impellers. Washington
card plant turns out war bond assemblies. In addition,
thousands of IBM accounting machines handle war-time
paperwork in Washington, D. C., and on the war fronts IBM
accounting machines in mobile units follow U. S. troops in
battle. Company builds plant at Poughkeepsie, N. Y. in
1942 and adds extension to Endicott. Both plants win Army-Navy
"E" awards . . . In 1944, IBM's first large-scale
computer, the automatic sequence controlled calculator,
is presented to Harvard University . . . Same year, Watson
Scientific Computing Laboratory is founded at Columbia
University . . . In 1944, company announces a sickness and
accident pay plan, providing payments to employees absent
for those reasons . . . A year later, the retirement plan is
announced . . . At war's end, armistice documents are typed
on IBM electric typewriter.
1946: IBM announces first small commercial electronic calculator,
the 603 . . . IBM hospitalization plan for employees
is announced . . . Family Dinners are launched . . . Employees
now total 22, 492 ... Stock splits five for four.
1948: IBM's first large-scale electronic machine, the selective
sequence electronic calculator, is announced . . . Gross income
is $156, 397, 720 . . . The 604 is introduced.
1949: World Trade Corporation is formed as an independently-operated
but wholly-owned subsidiary to handle foreign operations . . .
The 407 is introduced . . . Total employment now
27,236.
1950: Korean War: IBM again places facilities at government's
disposal. The company is assigned military projects including
bombing-navigational systems for Air Force bombers and giant,
high-speed electronic calculators for the country's air defense.
1952: Thomas J. Watson Jr. becomes IBM President . . . IBM
announces the 701, its first large-scale electronic data processing
system designed primarily for scientific calculations . . .
Company now has over 40, 000 employees.
1953: Suggestion Plan's top award is increased from $2, 500 to
$5,000 . . . Company announces 702 computer for commercial
use, and the 650, an intermediate size electronic computer to
handle widely diversified accounting and scientific computations.
1954: A new plant is completed at Greencastle, Ind. . . . A heat
treat-plating plant is built at Endicott . . . New research laboratory
completed at Poughkeepsie . . . The faster, more
powerful 704 succeeds the 701, and the 705 replaces the 702
. . . Stock splits five for four . . . The fastest, most powerful
electronic computer of its time is developed and built by IBM
for U. S. Navy's Bureau of Ordnance . . . IBM now has over
50,000 employees.
1955: Electric Typewriter and Military Products become autonomous
divisions . . . IBM engineers develop magnetic core
storage units . . . New products: 608 transistor calculator,
858 Cardatype accounting machine, a series of high speed
printers, the 83 sorter and the central control system (introduced
by Time Equipment Division to control mechanical devices
electronically) . . . Gross income: $563, 548, 792.
1956: Company enters into a consent decree with government,
which began anti-trust suit against IBM in 1952 . . . Thomas
J. Watson Jr. becomes chief executive of IBM . . . IBM
Family Major Medical Plan announced . . . New products:
305 RAMAC, 650 RAMAC, the 27 Card Proof Punch and
28 Printing Card Proof Punch. Electric Typewriter Division
announces an electronic "reading" device for electric typewriters,
and an electronic input-output device to automatical
ly type work done by computers. Time Equipment Division
introduces automatic production recording system . . .
Thomas J. Watson Sr. dies at 82 . . . Construction is completed
on Kingston plant . . . Military Products Division
continues production of its large-scale computer for vast
air warning system known as SAGE, and advanced bombing
and navigational systems known as BRANE, for the U. S. Air
Force . . . Announced at top management conference in
Williamsburg, Va. : IBM divisionalizes into six autonomous
divisions and the subsidiary World Trade Corporation. Also,
Corporate Staff formed to advise and assist the divisions in
specialized areas . . . Vice Chairman of the Board, J. G.
Phillips, retires . . . Stock splits five for four . . . Total
employment figure reaches 72, 504.
1957: IBM gross annual income exceeds billion dollar level.
Company makes public offering of 1, 050, 233 shares of
additional stock to help finance continued growth . . .
Service Bureau Corporation is formed as wholly-owned but
independently-operated subsidiary . . . T. J. Watson Memorial
Scholarship program is established . . . 709 computer is
announced . . . Company increases paid holidays
to eight . . . Plant and laboratory facilities are completed
at Owego and San Jose, and Sherman Card Plant is also
completed. Data Processing Division moves headquarters
to White Plains, N. Y. . . . Stock splits two for one . . .
Employees now total 83, 588.
1958: All those workers previously paid on hourly basis are
placed on salary . . . Electric Typewriter Division, during
its 25th anniversary year, produces its 1, 000, 000th type
writer . . . Stock purchase plan allows employees to buy
IBM stock at 85% of market price . . . Company announces
Tuition Refund Plan for employees' after-hours education
. . . IBM sells Time Equipment Division to Simplex Time
Recorder Co. . . . New products: 7090 high capacity computer,
7070 intermediate data processing system, series 50
basic accounting machines and 632 electronic typing calculator . . .
Plants are completed at Rochester, Minn.; Dayton,
N. J.; and Lexington, Ky. Construction starts on a card
plant at Concord, Mass. . . . First issue of "Management
Briefing" appears . . . 305 RAMAC answers questions on
world history in ten languages at Brussels World's Fair
. . . 704 computer aids in design and tracking of space missiles
and in monitoring missile trajectories during firing.
1959: Company announces Matching Grants program to match
employees' gifts to institutions of higher learning up to
$1,000 . . . Maximum Suggestion Plan Award is raised
from $5, 000 to $25, 000 . . . New products include: 1401
data processing system; 1620 scientific computer; and 357
data collection system . . . IBM 9090 reservations system
permits automatic airlines reservations through central
control . . . Company reorganizes Data Processing Division
into Data Systems, General Products, and a new
marketing division which retains Data Processing title.
Military Products Division is renamed Federal Systems
Division. Advanced Systems Development, a new division,
is set up to explore new markets . . . Stockholders meet at
New York City's Coliseum, vote 3 for 2 stock split . . .
Federal Systems Division moves headquarters to Rockville,
Md. . . . Construction starts on Yorktown, N. Y., Research
Center and a card plant in Campbell, Calif. The Concord, Mass.
card plant is completed. World Trade Corporation opens new
Belgium headquarters and dedicates Blaricum (The Netherlands)
European Education Center . . . Company has 108, 915 stock-
holders and 94, 912 employees.
1960: Improvements in Vacation Plan are announced . . .
Tuition Refund Plan increases from $150 to $250 a year
maximum . . . New products being produced include:
solid-state 7000 series computers to replace the 700 series
of vacuum-tube machines; 1410 computer; STRETCH, the
world's most powerful computing system; "Executary, "
Electric Typewriter Division's new dictation equipment;
TELE-PROCESSING, a concept to overcome time and distance
in data handling . . . RAMAC scores Olympic games
in California, tallies votes at both political conventions
and processes presidential election returns on TV . . .
Data Processing Division opens first of Datacenters to
make IBM computers available to customers on an hourly
basis . . . IBM computers provide data for launching and
tracking Project Echo, nation's pioneering experiment in
space communications . . . Mark I language translator,
developed for Air Force, translates Russian into English
. . . Construction starts on a materials distribution center
at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and an addition to the Endicott, N. Y.
product development laboratory . . . Supplies Division completes
Campbell, Calif. card plant and opens a new card
design center in Houston . . . Company starts Systems Research
Institute as first graduate level school in computer
industry to educate people for advanced work in data processing
systems engineering . . . World Trade Corporation
completes a manufacturing plant in Argentina, expands its
plants in Scotland, France and Japan, and starts construction
on new laboratory buildings in France, Holland, Germany,
and a new office building in West Berlin.
1961: Family Hospitalization Plan is improved . . . Employees
are reimbursed for 75% of eligible educational
expenses under improved Tuition Refund Plan . . . Maximum on
suggestion awards increased to $75, 000. Largest
suggestion award in company history -- $56, 000 -- paid
to two employees . . . Company launches new Invention
Award Plan for significant inventions by employees . . .
IBM announces program to help employees build and equip
fallout shelters . . . L. H. LaMotte retires. He continues
as a member of Board of Directors and as Chairman of
Executive and Finance Committee . . . T. J. Watson, Jr.
elected Chairman of the Board . . . A. L. Williams becomes
President . . . New products and applications: WALNUT, a
prototype information retrieval system developed for a government
agency; "Selectric, " an electric typewriter without type
bars or a movable carriage; 1710 control system; IBM Hypertape
System; 1301 disk storage file; high-speed 1404 printer . . .
Thomas J. Watson Research Center at Yorktown, N. Y.,
officially opened; annual meeting held there at which stockholders
vote for a 3 for 2 stock split and for an improved
Employee Stock Purchase Plan . . . Components Division
is formed to handle development, manufacture and purchase
of solid-state components used in production of IBM data
processing equipment . . . After trial period at Yorktown,
N. Y., IBM decides it will move its Corporate headquarters
to Armonk, N.Y. General Products Division and Data Systems
Division decide to move to new headquarters near
White Plains, N. Y. . . . Construction begins on following
facilities: development labs in Poughkeepsie and San Jose;
a new Supplies Division headquarters, Dayton, N. J. ; a
research lab in Ruschlikon, Switzerland . . . IBM has
116, 276 employees and 197, 509 stockholders.
1962: Improvements in Employee Benefits are announced, covering
retirement, vacation, holiday, family hospitalization and
major medical plans . . . Company joins President Kennedy's
Plan for Progress program, reasserting IBM's policy of equal
job opportunity for all individuals . . . First Invention Award
Dinner is held to honor 34 outstanding IBM inventors . . .
New products: low cost 1440 data processing system; the 7094,
one of the most powerful computing systems ever offered by
IBM; the 7010 data processing system; the 7710 Data Communication
Unit, which permits computers at different loca-
tions to exchange information via high-speed facilities; the
7750, which allows a single computer to communicate with
large numbers of widely-separated -terminals; the 1420 bank
transit system; the 1062 teller terminal; the 6400 Magnetic
Ledger Accounting Machine . . . Work begins on IBM guidance
computer which will help steer the two-man Gemini
capsule . . . IBM also delivers the first guidance computer
for the Saturn series of rockets . . . IBM scientists succeed
in operating a semiconductor diode laser powered directly by
an electric current rather than an external light source . . .
An experimental thin film memory is demonstrated which
operates, at a speed of 100 billionths of a second . . . Using
the Telstar satellite, IBM engineers send computer information
back and forth between Endicott and La Gaude, France . . .
Construction starts on a Components manufacturing facility at
East Fishkill, N. Y., on an extension to the Lexington Electric
Typewriter plant, on an addition to the Rochester, Minn. plant,
and on a development laboratory at San Jose. Supplies Division
moves into new headquarters at Dayton, N. J. Development
laboratories are completed at Poughkeepsie and San Jose . . .
World Trade Corporation completes development engineering
laboratory at La Gaude, France; dedicates an administration
building in West Berlin; builds an education center at Cuernavaca,
Mexico; and opens Datacenters in Dusseldorf (Germany), Tokyo
and Toronto.
1963: Company appoints first eight IBM Fellows in a new Fellowship
program for honoring company scientists, engineers and
other professionals who have sustained records of innovation
and technical achievement . . . Improvements are announced
in the eligibility requirements for the Vacation Plan . . .
Company forms three new divisions: the Industrial Products
Division, the Real Estate and Construction Division, and the
Research Division, which was formerly a Corporate Staff
function . . . New products and applications: IBM 7094 II,
most powerful computer in the company's current product
line; an electronic filing system -- composed of new IBM 1302
disk storage files -- capable of storing over one billion characters
of information; the 1401-G, designed for customers who
need to process punched card information at great speed and in
large volume; the 1460, which can process information nearly
twice as fast as the 1401; 1240 banking system; and IBM MicroProcessing
equipment. The company begins deliveries of the
IBM 1440 and 6400 data -handling machines. IBM introduces
several different kinds of TELE-PROCESSING systems, including the
IBM 1030 data collection system, the IBM 1050
data communications terminal and the IBM 7740 communication
control unit . . . IBM people and computing systems used in
National Aeronautics and Space Administration's ground-based
control network which tracks Mercury Astronaut L. Gordon
Cooper on his 546, 000 mile orbital flight around the earth . . .
Components Division completes a manufacturing plant in East
Fishkill, N. Y. Electric Typewriter Division completes an
extension to the Lexington plant. General Products Division
completes an addition to the Rochester, Minn., plant. Research
Division dedicates new facility for its laboratory in Zurich,
Switzerland . . . In World Trade, a new plant near Bombay,
India, starts production of punched card accounting equipment.
A plant in Sindelfingen, West Germany, begins deliveries of
IBM 1440 systems. A new development engineering laboratory
is dedicated at La Gaude, France, and another is established in
Vienna, Austria . . . IBM has 137, 612 employees and 232, 761
stockholders.
1964: Company celebrates "50 Years of Progress" with 80, 000
IBMers and guests at 231 Family Dinner and Quarter Century
Club gatherings . . . IBM Day at the New York World's Fair
has General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Mayor Robert F. Wagner
and Robert Moses, president of the World's Fair Corporation,
as featured speakers. More than two million people visit
IBM pavilion during Fair season . . . Chairman Thomas J.
Watson, Jr. , receives Medal of Freedom, highest civil honor
the U. S. president can bestow . . . T. V. Learson and A. K.
Watson named senior vice presidents . . . Company moves
corporate headquarters from New York City to Armonk, N. Y.
. . . Company acquires new subsidiary: Science Research
Associates, Chicago publisher of educational materials and
tests; forms the new Field Engineering Division; changes the
name of Electric Typewriter Division to Office Products
Division . . . System/360, a new concept in IBM computers,
spanning almost the entire performance range of IBM's present
line of computers, and incorporating microelectronics, is
introduced on April 7, in the most important product announcement
in company history . . . Subsequently, IBM introduces
the 1800 data acquisition and control system; as well as a
graphic data processing system permitting computer-stored
information to be displayed graphically on a screen and changed
with a light-sensitive pen . . . American Air Lines SABRE
system, using IBM computers and linking 1, 000 ticket sales desks
in 65 U. S. cities, goes into full operation. IBM also introduces
several tele-processing units and systems and the IBM Magnetic
Tape SELECTRIC typewriter, which types automatically error-free copy
. . . IBM scientists develop an experimental device
which can electronically position in millionths of a second a laser
light beam carrying written and pictorial information; a solid
state optical scanning device which converts images into electrical
signals; and a laser transmitter that sends voice and other
signals great distances over laser light beams . . . IBM awarded
contract to build part of moon rockets -- largest space contract in
company's history . . . IBM computers help speed results of winter
and summer Olympics . . . Company completes new plants at
Huntsville, Ala. , and East Fishkill, N. Y. . . . A World Trade
Corporation education center is established in Ibadan, Nigeria . . .
IBM has 149,834 employees and 266,086 stockholders, after a
five for four stock split.
1965: IBM Pavilion completes two years at the New York World's
Fair with more than 10-million visitors . . . World Trade
Corporation gross income passes the billion dollar mark for
the first time . . . Improvements announced in Survivors
Income, Major Medical, Group Life Insurance, and early
retirement . . . First System/360 shipped one year after introduction;
Model 44 medium-sized computer designed for
scientific applications announced; Models 65 and 75 step up
computing power at high end of System/360 performance range;
Model 67 for time-sharing and improved Model 30 processor
introduced . . . Other products: IBM 1130, low-cost, desk-sized
computer introduced; new 2740 and 2741 typewriter communications
terminals link secretary to computer; 2321 data cell drive
announced to speed use of real-time systems . . . New 28-ounce,
battery-operated Executary, Model 224 is announced; the 2361,
largest computer memory ever built, shipped to NASA Spacecraft
Center, Houston . . . The Document Processing System is
introduced to prepare computer-printed documents for distribution
in one operation . . . IBM scientists complete the most
precise computation of the moon's orbit; develop a fabrication
technique for connecting hundreds of circuits on a tiny silicon
wafer . . . A 59-pound, on-board IBM guidance computer is used
on all Gemini flights, including the first spaceship rendezvous . . .
Computer-based communications network links IBM's major
engineering, manufacturing, and administrative facilities in U. S.
and Europe to coordinate work on System/360 . . . First IBM-donated
computer centers in European universities open in London,
Copenhagen, and Pisa, Italy . . . Science Research Associates
operates Rodman Job Corps Center as part of Nation's "War on
Poverty" . . . Construction starts on manufacturing and development
facilities near Raleigh, N. C. , and Boulder, Colo. . . .
Company completes plant and laboratory additions at Kingston,
Owego, Poughkeepsie, and Yorktown Heights, all in New York
State, and office locations at Endicott, N. Y. , and Philadelphia . . .
World Trade starts construction of a manufacturing and development
facility in Mainz, Germany; a manufacturing facility in Vimercate,
Italy; and manufacturing additions at Montpellier, France, and
Amsterdam, Netherlands . . . IBM has 172, 000 employees worldwide
and 275, 650 stockholders.
1966: IBM announces a new employee benefit, the Family Plan;
a new special care program to assist employees with handicapped
children; and improvements in the Family Hospitali
zation Plan, the Major Medical Plan, and the retirement
program . . . Corporate Office established to conduct overall
affairs of the corporation, comprised of T. J. Watson, Jr. ,
A. L. Williams, A. K. Watson, and T. Vincent Learson,
newly-elected president of the company; A. L. Williams named
chairman of the Executive Committee; A. K. Watson elected
vice chairman of the Board; Lyle M. Spencer, Science
Research Associates president, named to IBM Board . . .
Mrs. Jeannette Kittredge Watson, widow cf Thomas J.
Watson, Sr. , dies at 82 . . . New stock offering to shareholders
and 50 per cent stock split approved at annual meeting
. . . Supplies Division name changed to Information Records
Division . . . Data Processing Group organized with Frank T.
Cary as general manager . . . New products: IBM SELECTRIC
Composer and the Magnetic Tape SELECTRIC Composer for
high quality cold-type composition; 1287 Optical Reader, which
reads hand-printed numbers and five characters; 9370 Document
Reproducer; IBM 1500, first system specifically designed for
computer-assisted instruction; IMPACT, a set of computer programs
for inventory control of retail operations using System/360;
1080 data acquisition system for hospital and laboratory tests . . .
IBM computers process some 19 million Medicare identification
cards for the Social Security Administration . . . System/4 Pi,
special family of aircraft and space computers, announced . . .
Service Bureau Corporation begins implementation of a nationwide
computer network which will link 125 System/360s in over 80
offices . . . Federal Systems personnel move into new facility
near Gaithersburg, Md. . . . Office Products Division announces
a plant and engineering complex at Austin, Texas . . . Company
acquires a 550-acre site at Boca Raton, Florida . . . IBM World
Trade begins construction of a manufacturing plant in Fujisawa,
Japan; dedicates a plant in Vimercate, Italy, and a laboratory at
Lidingo, Sweden; completes construction of a new manufacturing
facility in Mainz, West Germany, and announces plans to build a
second manufacturing plant at Havant, near Portsmouth, England
. . . IBM has 198,186 employees worldwide and 328, 427 stockholders.
1967: Management Committee of senior executives formed to
assist Corporate Office in management of overall affairs
of the corporation . . . G. Keith Funston, retiring presi
dent of N. Y. Stock Exchange, elected to IBM Board of
Directors . . . T. J. Watson, Jr. , named "businessman of
year" in Saturday Review magazine poll . . . Arthur K.
Watson elected president of International Chamber of Commerce
. . . IBM exhibits computer systems at Canada's Expo '67
. . .
SPEAK UP! program, begun in 1959, answers its 32, 000th
question from domestic employees . . . Products and services
introduced: System/360 Model 25; IBM Paper Tape SELECTRIC
Composer; 2680 CRT printer for publishing; QUIKTRAN 2,
improved version of remote QUIKTRAN terminal system; 1259
magnetic character reader/sorter; Series/500 magnetic tape;
Binary Synchronous Communications, an IBM technique which
regulates and speeds flow of data characters into transmission
lines . . . Cartographic Scanner converts maps to binary data
for computer processing . . . IBM scientists produce first monolithic
integrated germanium circuits . . . make important new
gains in laser technology . . . discover and prove a series of
formulas which give minimum number of steps required for
addition, multiplication and comparison of numbers . . . IBM
ground team plays key role in successful Saturn V test flight . . .
Trillion-bit photo-digital storage system built for Atomic Energy
Commission . . . Customer support now includes 40 installation
centers, 17 field systems centers, four data acquisition and
control centers, and six scientific centers . . . IBM computer
processes data for FBI at new National Crime Information Center
in Washington . . . Data communications experiment completed
between IBM computing centers in U. S. and Paris via satellite . . .
World Trade Corporation establishes European Systems Research
Institute . . . Real Estate and Construction Division acquires sites
in Norman, Okla., and Manassas, Va. . . . Construction begins
on new Data Processing Division headquarters in White Plains, N. Y.
. . . Design underway on the manufacturing facility at Boca Raton,
Fla. . . . Expansion completed on manufacturing plant at Fujisawa,
Japan, and a technical center at Diegem, Belgium . . . Expansion
completed on manufacturing facilities at Mainz, West Germany;
Amsterdam, The Netherlands; and Greenock, Scotland . . . IBM
closes year with 221, 866 employees worldwide and 359, 495 stockholders
. . . A 2 1/2% stock dividend is paid.
1968: Changes in the way IBM charges for and supports its data
processing equipment are under intensive study; results are
scheduled for mid-1969 announcement . . . Control Data
Corporation files a civil antitrust suit against IBM; CDC's
allegations are denied . . . Huyler VanBuren, Kingston
technician, receives a $75, 000 suggestion award, possibly
the largest in American industry; 33 other employees share
inventions and technical contribution awards totaling $370, 000
. . . Frank T. Cary, IBM senior vice president, is elected to
the Board of Directors . . . Richard A. Giesen is named
president of Science Research Associates following the death
of Lyle M. Spencer, co-founder and president . . . IBM's
Bedford -Stuyvesant manufacturing plant is established in
Brooklyn, and a Harlem Street Academy is sponsored by IBM
to aid school dropouts; these are two of over 100 programs
undertaken by IBM in the Equal Opportunity area . . . Apollo
mission support at Federal Systems Division plays a vital role
in the first circumlunar flight; NASA delves deeper into theoretical
space exploration, using two System/360 Model 95s . . .
Additions to System/360 are announced: the Model 85; two
versions of the Model 20; the 50 data inscriber and 2495
cartridge reader, which offer a new data entry technique for
System/360; two display units, the 2265 and 2760; a display
copier, the 2285; and the 1288 optical reader . . . Customer
engineers complete 100, 000 hours of instruction through a
System/360 that "teaches" at over 200 branch offices . . . New
models of IBM's EXECUTARY dictation and transcription units
are introduced . . . Science Research Associates adds new
educational programs in mathematics, reading, social studies,
language arts and science . . . Consolidated gross income
reaches $6, 888, 549, 209, increasing $1. 5 billion over '67 on a
high-level of outright computer sales; World Trade gross income
passes the $2-billion level for the first time . . . Plans are
announced for a 52-story office building in Chicago; over two
million square feet of new World Trade facilities and expansions
are completed or are under construction in ten countries; almost
6 million square feet are added or are under construction in the
U. S. . . . In R&D: a basic patent is received on Gunn effect
devices . . . IBM scientists develop an experimental laser optical
memory system . . . Widely used SLT modules achieve a reliability
rate 1, 000 times that of earlier vacuum tubes . . . IBM
employment reaches 241, 000, an increase of 20, 000 over the
previous year . . . at year end, stockholders number 501, 390.
1969: Thomas J. Watson, Jr. , terms the decade of the Sixties
"the most exciting and productive in the more than 50-year
history of the company" . . . Under a new IBM marketing
policy, most systems engineering activities, many future
computer programs, and most customer education courses
are offered for a charge . . . The Federal Government
files an antitrust suit against IBM; four civil antitrust actions
(three filed this year) are consolidated; IBM denies the allegations
and will defend all cases vigorously . . . The General
Systems Division is formed to develop and manufacture lowcost data
processing equipment and related programming
systems support . . . IBM offers a new service, Custom
Contract Services, under which the company will design and
install. customers' data processing systems . . . Two new
computers are announced--System/3 for small businesses,
with a new small punched card; and System/360 Model 195,
IBM's most powerful computer; both use new IBM monolithic
integrated circuits . . . Major new products are introduced
in tele-processing: The IBM 2770 Data Communication
System enables a customer to use a variety of input and output
devices conveniently; the IBM 2790 Data Communication
System collects and processes data from more than 1, 000
remote points on a manufacturing plant floor . . . IBM computers
help NASA put the first men on the moon; an on-board
computer in the Orbiting Astronomical Observatory II operates
for a full year . . . The IBM Mag Card "Selectric" typewriter is
introduced . . . In research, IBM is developing experimental
devices using laser beams to store huge amounts of information,
as well as techniques for word recognition, speaker identification,
and advanced audio response . . . An experimental automatic airline
ticket vendor is demonstrated . . . Over 250, 000 suggestions
are made by employees, and IBM pays more than $3.3-million for
those accepted . . . IBM customer engineers take 400, 000 hours
of computer-assisted instruction . . . A total of 7 1/2-million sq.
ft. of new construction is completed or in process at IBM sites in
the U. S. ; design work starts on an additional 4-million sq. ft. ;
construction begins on 52-story Chicago office building . . . World
Trade Corporation adds or is completing 3. 6-million sq. ft. in its
biggest building year . . . Albert L. Williams, former IBM president,
retires . . . John M. Fox and Cyrus R. Vance are elected to
the Board of Directors . . . Total employment reaches 258, 000 . . .
The number of stockholders is 549, 000.
1970: System/370 is introduced in the company's biggest product
announcement year since 1964. Able to run System/360 programs,
the new system includes Models 165, 155, and 145 (the first general
purpose business computer to use monolithic circuits in all memory
and logic functions) ... New, low-cost System/3 Model 6 is introduced,
with ability to process standard ledger cards and switch
easily from business applications to complex mathematical
problem-solving ... More than 1, 500 low-cost System/3 Model 10s
are installed in 1970, the first full year on the market ... Sensorbased
System/7 is introduced for process, manufacturing, and
laboratory applications ... Advanced peripheral products are
announced: 800-million-character- IBM 3330 disk file; IBM 3803/
3420 magnetic tape subsystem; 2, 000 line-per-minute IBM 3211
printer; IBM 129 card data recorder, a keypunch with an electronic
memory; IBM 2721, a portable audio terminal which is built into
an attache case, enabling the user to dial his computer from any
telephone ... More than 80 new program products are introduced
. . . IBM Copier is placed on market in both U. S. and overseas ...
IBM computers in Houston assist flight controllers in dramatic
rescue of Apollo 13 astronauts ... A new version of IBM's aerospace
computer -- System /4 Pi, Model AP -- is introduced ... IBM
research scientists use electron beam to make electronic components
so small that detail can be seen only through electron microscope ...
College division is established by Science Research Associates ...
Close to 10-million sq. ft. of new construction are completed, in
process, or in design at IBM sites in the U. S. . .. World Trade
Corporation expands its worldwide manufacturing space by 1.3
million sq. ft. and reveals plans to build major new manufacturing
plants in Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, and Japan ... IBM Japan's
exhibit at Expo '70 in Osaka attracts over 9-million visitors, a record
for any IBM exhibit in a single year ... IBM announces plans for office
buildings in urban renewal areas of Baltimore, and Columbus, Ohio ...
Arthur K. Watson, vice chairman of IBM and chairman of the board of
IBM World Trade Corporation, resigns to become U. S. Ambassador
to France ... Elected to the board of directors are Gilbert E.
Jones, Nicholas deB. Katzenbach, William McChesney Martin, Jr. ,
and Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller ... IBM employment reaches
269, 000. Stockholders number 587, 000 ... Consolidated gross
income reaches $7.5-billion. Gross income from operations
outside the U. S. approaches $3-billion. At year-end, worldwide
backlog of orders for data processing equipment is at a record
high.
G520-1580-5
4/71 Printed in U.S.A. G520-1580-5
International Business Machines Corporation
Armonk, New York 10504